It's a time that always finds me in a strange place of in-between.... of trying to look back and ahead.... at the same time.

It’s not really all that comfortable of a place to be, mentally or emotionally, but I can't help it.... I lean towards the overly analytical side of life, and I like to think I gain at least some insight from the process once it passes.

So, I’ve been trying to squeeze in a few minutes to think and reflect whenever possible over the last few weeks. But, with holidays, family events, trying to work, travels, and best of all, some wonderful winter adventures with my Fantabulous Partner and the 6 kids we have between us, well.... both time alone and quiet have been rare things.

Normally, being outside in nature is one my best thinking strategies, but the cold and limited daylight hours of this winter are making it even harder to pull off, since it’s freezing and / or dark most of the time.

Still, I’m intent on celebrating and releasing 2014, and trying to figure out what worked and what didn’t before I get too crazy in my dreaming and scheming for 2015.

So, a few things I learned:

There’s nothing like the power of community, friends, family and LOVE. I may be fully competent to pull off all kinds of stuff mostly by my own big girl self, but the reality is....life is SO MUCH BETTER with peeps!

Last year came with some really big and hard to deal with stuff, and I feel so blessed to have been surrounded by people who loved and lifted up me and my kids through it all.

2014 has also been a year of figuring out a lot about relationships, like:

* How to navigate parenting teens. They’re like full size adults and totally capable of all kinds of grown up concepts and tasks, which is awesome. But, they’re still kids and have a whole lotta hormones, moods, and frontal lobe development still going on. (To be fair, I am full of hormones and moods as well, but I think my frontal lobe is as good as it’s going to get…)

* I’m also learning how to be in a true partnership ~ as in a relationship based on both having a partnerandbeing one~ and that’s HUGE! It requires trust, vulnerability, patience and all sorts of things that I do not find easy, but I’m also finding the benefits are totally worth it.

There should really be a pamphlet on partnerships handed out with marriage applications, or better yet, given in to kids in high schools because it seems like a lot of people, like myself, make it well into adulthood with no clue as to how to do this.

All of this relationship stuff comes with all kinds of lessons within lessons within lessons, such as:

* Good Communication is pretty much the most important and very best thing ever….like for real….it can get you through all kinds of hard stuff, which life is gonna give you anyway, and it’s a lot easier to find your way past when you can communicate.

As I mentioned, I like dreaming and scheming~ I also like making things happen. And I've learned that brainstorming ideas and planning possibilities generally has to be followed by some action, even if it's tiny.

I might not get to everything on my list, but I’m learning to go easy on myself over that. Life happens and sometimes it's in direct opposition to my plans~ but I did manage some pretty cool stuff, and I’m convinced that if I didn’t elaborate on paper, try even when it wasn’t perfect, and surround myself with positive people, none of it would happen at all.

I know there are about a billion and fifty more lessons, but these have been foremost in my mind. They all lead me to places I want to be, the people I want to be with, and the ways I want to keep growing in the New Year.

Now that the holiday madness is quieting down, I’m starting to see late nights with notebooks, colorful pens and my wonderful 2015 Shining Year Planner, mapping out my next schemes and ideas. I get the feeling it’s going to be a very good year.